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Rangers get dangerously close to the playoff picture

The Texas Rangers chose the right moment to sweep the Athletics for the first time in over a decade, the weekend sweep bringing them within two-and-a-half games of the Seattle Mariners and the final spot in the fall dance.

These gains also mean that the Texans now overtake the Kansas City Royals as the first team out of the playoff picture, with no rivals to surpass other than the Mariners.

That doesn’t mean things will be easy for the Rangers, however, as not only have they had to endure the loss of several key starters recently, but simply catching the Mariners won’t be enough for Texas. Indeed, the Rangers don’t own the tie-breaker, having underperformed in 2025 against Seattle.

But, with their recent surge, the Rangers give themselves a lot more leeway to close the gap.

Texas could even have their sights set on the division title, as the race in the American League’s Western Section tightens dangerously. The Houston Astros are still in the lead, but the Mariners are only two games back and the Rangers are only four and a half games back.

The Rangers still have six meetings with the Astros, including three this weekend at Globe Life Field. After that, the two teams will meet again at Houston’s Daikin Park from September 19 to 21. This will give the Rangers a chance to cut into Houston’s lead without anyone else’s help.

The only downside: the Rangers have the toughest schedule of the three aforementioned teams, and the fifth-toughest schedule in all of MLB.

But baseball is played on the field, and we’re in for quite a season finale.

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Taylor Ward: a frightening injury at Daikin Park

Yesterday afternoon (Sunday), the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Houston Astros 3-0 at Daikin Park.

But that’s not what caught the eye about the game. Angels outfielder Taylor Ward crashed headfirst into the Astros’ stadium metal scoreboard while attempting to catch a fly ball off the bat of Houston second baseman Ramon Urias in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Ward finally got to his feet and signaled to the Angels’ relief bullpen that he needed help, and the team’s relievers rushed to see him and provide a towel to soak up the blood running down his face.

It was a frightening scene.

The outfielder was lucky to have attentive teammates and eventually left the field on a cart, being replaced in left field by Luis Rengifo, who left second base. Christian Moore took that spot.

After the game, Ward’s teammate Jo Adell was quick to attack the Houston stadium for the dangerous location of the scoreboard.

He did what he’s supposed to do. He was aggressive on one play. At the end of the day, and I’ve talked about this before, there shouldn’t be any metal scoreboards on the baseball field. This is the big leagues. It’s ridiculous. A guy wants to make a play, and he has to worry about a metal fence. It’s crazy. He did everything he could to make a play, and he got beat by something beyond his control.

As dangerous as the scoreboard may be, this appears to be the first time a player has suffered such an injury at Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park.

The stadium was opened in 2000 and featured a hill and flagpole in center field. These features also caused concern at the time and were removed after the 2016 season.

Perhaps changes will be made once again.

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Zack Wheeler: his days as a sharpshooter are probably over

In the last few days, we learned that Zack Wheeler’s 2025 season is over due to a blood clot in his right shoulder. He has since undergone thoracic outlet decompression surgery, and will miss six to eight months of activity.

That’s why his season is over.

That said, the surgery Wheeler underwent is a fairly major one. In fact, it’s the same as the one Stephen Strasburg had to go through… and from which he never really came back.

There are success stories (Merrill Kelly is one), but they’re rare.

All this means that, even if Wheeler should be able to return to the game in 2026, it’s illogical to expect him to be among the sport’s elite again.

Simply not having a normal winter to prepare for the season might be a problem in itself, but you also have to wonder what all this means for the rest of the veteran’s career. Because in reality, if he can’t be the best version of himself in 2026, he’s going to start running out of time.

Wheeler has already announced that he will retire at the end of the 2027 season, when his contract expires. The pitcher will be 37 by then, and he wants to enjoy his family life.

And so, inevitably, the question arises: if Wheeler pulls out all the stops in his rehabilitation and/or when he returns in 2026, might the idea of bringing his retirement forward by a year start to interest him?

Obviously, we have to hope that the veteran will be able to have two more big seasons before he retires. But right now, there are plenty of reasons to believe that it could be difficult for him to do so.

Let’s see if he can beat the odds.

  • Kristian Campbell remains in AAA for the time being.

  • Bryce Harper has a long memory.

  • Taylor Ward is doing well after crashing into the fence yesterday.

  • The Mets are still having problems on the mound.

  • Kenta Maeda will return to Japan in 2026.

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Walker Buehler agrees with Phillies

On this August 31, it’s no surprise to see many players signing contracts. Nor is it surprising to see players from the waivers find takers – a la Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in fact.

Why should this be? Because a player on the roster before September 1 is eligible for the playoffs.

That’s why so many personnel moves are taking place today. It can’t be a transaction, since that’s been forbidden for a month for guys on a 40-man roster, but there are ways to move otherwise.

One name to keep an eye on, in that sense, was Walker Buehler. He’d been released by the Red Sox, which gave him the chance to sign somewhere in order to be eligible to pitch in the playoffs.

That’s what he did… but not with the Dodgers. I’m a little surprised, though.

The Philadelphia Phillies have put their faith in Buehler. He signed a contract with the Philly outfit in time to be available for the playoffs, where he’s capable of excelling.

As good as Buehler is in the playoffs (he shut down the last World Series, among others), his season with the Red Sox has been very difficult. But the Phillies probably figure he could bounce back in other colors.

Buehler will pitch once in AAA to prepare.

It must also be said that Dave Dombrowski’s club is looking for help on the mound in 2025. That was true before the deadline, but it’s been even truer since Zack Wheeler learned his season was over.

Let’s see if the gamble works.

  • Blue Jays win, but Max Scherzer’s back hurts.

  • Teoscar Hernandez needs to give more.

  • Alek Manoah did well in AAA.

  • Nice outing from the veteran.


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MLB in brief: Change for Shane Bieber | Shohei Ohtani knew, according to Ippei bookie

Change for Shane Bieber

He’ll launch on Wednesday instead of Friday. My theory? The club wants him on the mound as soon as possible, and they want to send Eric Lauer to the bullpen, which really needs reinforcements these days.

Shohei Ohtani knew, says Ippei bookie

Is he telling the truth? Did the Dodgers player know about his interpreter’s problems?

Zac Gallen was not in demand

Teams at the deadline didn’t feel he could make a difference in this year’s playoffs.

Andrew McCutchen likes the balanced calendar

He didn’t play in Boston for the first eight years of his career. Such a situation is more unlikely now.

Carlos Santana with the Cubs

He brings depth.

Tim Mayza, meanwhile, is headed to Philly.

No changes

Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase may not return to the game anytime soon.

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Isiah Kiner-Falefa returns to Toronto

The Blue Jays have added depth to their infield.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has spent the last 13 months in Pittsburgh, has been called up to the waivers by the Queen City club. He will therefore finish the season in the Blue Jays organization – barring another last-minute change, of course.

The Pirates had submitted the veteran to the waivers to save money. #Evidently

So, IKF is back with the organization that signed him a year and a half ago. Back then, he had a contract worth $7.5 million a year for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

I’m not surprised that the Blue Jays, who traded the veteran last year because the club was going to the wall, reacquired the player. He did well in Toronto in 2024 and is well-liked in the club’s locker room. He wasn’t sent somewhere else because he was a naughty boy…

He’s an addition who will help (especially when we know that Ernie Clement isn’t at 100% of his abilities) the club for the end of the season. Without being a sure starter, he can bring defensive depth.

We don’t know what this means for 2026, considering he’ll be a free agent in a few months. But right now, the Blue Jays have their eye on the 2025 series first.

Note that IKF will be able to play in the playoffs, having been added to the club’s roster before September 1.

  • And 43 for Aaron Judge.

  • Aaron Civale to the Cubs.

  • When will Wilyer Abreu return?

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Aroldis Chapman signs contract extension with Boston

When the Red Sox put Aroldis Chapman under contract, I don’t think the club expected such good results in 2025.

We’ve written about it recently, but clearly, Chapman has found the fountain of youth somewhere in Massachusetts. His 2025 season, at age 37, is truly… unexpected, shall we say.

The Red Sox closer , with a 1.04 earned-run average in 52 innings, is in top form, which is no mean feat.

He’s already earned over $80 million in New York, and has played an important role in the Cubs’ and Rangers’ World Series conquests over the past decade. And he’s better this year?

But why are we talking about him this morning? Because the Boston Red Sox, who had signed Chapman to a one-year contract ($10.75 million) only in 2025, decided not to wait any longer before keeping him for 2026.

The Cuban has agreed to a deal for the 2026 season – with an option year that can activate in 2027 if he pitches enough innings in 2026. He’s guaranteed $13.3 million in total and can secure up to $26 million if all goes well and he stays for two years on the terms of his new contract.

https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1961964117373133217

Understandably, if he were younger, he would surely have waited before signing, in order to test the autonomy market. But at his age, he certainly didn’t want to leave Boston.

And it’s not as if he would have been able to get long-term offers elsewhere either.

So, like many players, he decided to buy into his bosses’ plan in Boston and chose to stay in town. He clearly believes in what the Low Reds are building.

And Craig Breslow, once again, has proved that there’s no bad time to sign a player. Even if the end of August is a more unusual time to do so.

https://twitter.com/BOSSportsGordo/status/1961966511297368420

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Jeff Hoffman collapses (again): at this point, Trey Yesavage needs to be seriously considered

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Jeff Hoffman, who’s really slipping away after a good start to the season, came on in the ninth inning. It was 1-1 and his club was counting on him to deliver.

And he didn’t deliver.

After seven fine innings (only one run) from Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays closer gave up two consecutive home runs to the Brewers. He also found a way to give up another run… which made the difference in a 4-1 setback.

So the question is: what now?

If the Blue Jays don’t respond, maybe the division title will slip away. Maybe a playoff spot might be harder to come by than we thought. Maybe- we get it, I think.

The bullpen isn’t doing the job, and Toronto needs to react. But how?

The newcomers are really kicking ass right now. The guys who were rolling at the start of the campaign are either injured or more unproductive. So there are no easy solutions right now. And that’s why the manager isn’t giving up.

If we’re thinking indirectly, instead of replacing the end-of-game specialist, the club could try to put itself in a position where it doesn’t necessarily need Jeff Hoffman anymore. In other words? Give up fewer points or score more.

Would Trey Yesavage do worse than the current guys? I don’t know. But why not give it a try?

On Monday, the September line-ups go into effect. Why not do like the Pirates (Bubba Chandler), the Red Sox (Payton Tolle) or the Mets (Jonah Tong) and try out a young man filled with talent?

I’m not talking about putting Yesavage as a closer, obviously. But the club has spent the year preparing for its potential arrival in the Majors… and right now, it needs reinforcement and a spark.

  • Juan Soto is on fire.

  • Brandon Woodruff tomorrow and Hunter Greene on Monday: it won’t be easy for the Blue Jays in 48 hours.

  • A name to keep in mind.

  • Incredibly, this happened today:

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MLB in brief: Kevin Pillar wants to help Denzel Clarke | Alek Manoah grateful

MLB in brief: Kevin Pillar wants to help Denzel Clarke

When the retiree learned that the Canadiens had grown to idolize him, Pillar asked to be put in touch with the rookie, who excels in center field in Sacramento.

MacKenzie Gore injured

Hard hit in Washington.

Alek Manoah grateful

He has a lot of support from his teammates.

Nick Castellanos’ defense

Tired of being replaced defensively.

Spencer Turnbull to KC

He signed a minor league contract.

Roman Anthony the machine

At 21, he hits harder than… pretty much everyone.

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Dave Roberts is clear: Mookie Betts won’t be leaving shortstop

Teoscar Hernandez’s defense in right field has been the talk of the town for some time now. The Dodgers outfielder has never been a great defensive player, and in the context of the Dodgers trying to build a real baseball machine, it’s a weakness the club must try to correct.

And in many people’s eyes, the answer is quite simple: send shortstop Mookie Betts back to right field. Not a perfect solution considering the club doesn’t have many other options at #6, but it would solve another big problem.

But the Dodgers obviously aren’t too interested. The club still hasn’t done it… and Dave Roberts has tended to deflect questions on the subject over the last ten days or so.

That said, this time the manager wanted to be very clear: he repeated several times that Betts wasn’t going to leave the shortstop.

And that’s until the end of the season.

https://twitter.com/dylanohernandez/status/1961826036699820046

Roberts explains that it’s not impossible that we could see Betts in the outfield by the end of the year, but only in an emergency. For example, if the club runs out of outfielders at the end of a game and needs to send someone out for an inning or two.

And the reason is simple: Roberts really likes Betts’ defense at shortstop. And the numbers bear him out: Betts really is one of the best defensive players in the majors at the #6 position.

Roberts doesn’t want to touch a recipe that works.

So the Dodgers will have to find other solutions in the outfield. But if Hernandez’s defense continues to be a problem, we’ll have to wonder if he’ll be able to maintain regular playing time.

Because with Shohei Ohtani blocking the designated hitter spot, it’s hard to hide Hernandez in a lineup…

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